Marquel Combs Decommits from Ole Miss Due to Academics

Pierce College defensive end Marquel Combs, the No. 2 JUCO player in the country according to 247Sports, decommitted from Ole Miss Thursday morning due to an academic situation.

247Sports

Combs, who stands at 6-foot-3, 305-pounds, told The Clarion-Ledger on Thursday that in order to play for Ole Miss, or any other SEC team, he would have to take “a lot of classes” and he is intent on graduating in December.

He will now focus on choosing a Big 12, Big Ten, or Pac 12 school, but plans to stay in contact with the Ole Miss coaching staff.

“We are going to stay in contact and keep a relationship in case something goes wrong and I have to stay for the spring,” Combs said. “If I have to stay for another semester, I’ll go to Ole Miss.”

For Combs the decision to decommit from Ole Miss was a tough, but necessary one.

“I loved the school, loved the town, loved the coaching staff,” he said. “They were 100 percent upfront with me. But they understood why I have to leave in December and respected my decision for me and my family.”

Ole Miss loses not only an extremely talented player, but also a recruiter. Combs’ teammate Beau Sandland, the No. 4 JUCO player in the country, told The Clarion-Ledger last week that Combs “was turning into a bit of a recruiter” for Ole Miss and that the two “talk all the time.” Sandland said in a text message that Combs’ decision won’t affect how he feels about Ole Miss.

Combs accumulated more than 30 scholarship offers and chose Ole Miss over schools like California, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.

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Mississippi recruiting news, video, and analysis from The Clarion-Ledger, led by John Talty. John has previously written for the International Business Times, Rivals.com, Scout.com, Slate Magazine, Men's Journal, and more.